I really hope that Ford is going into this knowing that the renaming of the 500 will only be a very temporary band aid. Using the Taurus name is a good idea, but the rest of the car is just not competitive enough, IMO. I think they need to get their best minds (people who designed the 1997 F-150?) together and build something from scratch that does more than just match the competition. They need to make the Taurus desireable again, like it was in the 80s. Recyling parts and changing names around has never worked well for them in the past...putting their best minds to work to make something all new that is completely theirs has (1986 Taurus, 1983 Thunderbird, 1997 F-150, 1991 Explorer, 1979 Mustang etc...). I know Ford is capable of building a really great car, but right now they are just throwing any old design or name change out there in the desperate hope that it will increase sales.
As for the Fusion, while I think it is a really good car, I do not see it as a Taurus replacement. It seems to be more of a Contour replacement to me. I think they should have named the Lincoln version the Continental from the very start. While the Zephyr name has history, it just does not fit the car. MKZ is just meaningless.
And when did the three bar design become Ford's signature? Just because the Fusion had it and now the Taurus does it is now a signature? They need to find a more appealing signature.
